What Are the Limitations of Using the Number of Unique Addresses as a Proxy for Network Adoption?

The primary limitation is that a single user can control multiple unique addresses, making a simple count an inflated and inaccurate proxy for the actual number of human users. This is often exacerbated by protocols encouraging the creation of new addresses for airdrops or farming.

Furthermore, an address count does not measure the quality or frequency of interaction, meaning a large number of inactive or "dust" addresses can skew the adoption metric.